29

9:47 p.m.

"I'm sorry that ran so late," I say yet again. Bella waves me off.

"I had a great time," she assures me.

We're sitting in my car in front of her apartment complex after finally leaving my parent's house.

Bella lets out a breath.

"I'm debating with myself whether I ask if you want to come up again," she admits. I look at her. I haven't been home all weekend, but I'm open to hearing her ideas.

"Okay," I say, smiling a little. "What's the debate?"

She grins. "Well, part of me is like, 'Am I smothering this guy because I literally can't get enough of him?' but part of me is like, 'Everything this weekend has been awesome and fun, and stop worrying," she says, looking over at me.

I nod.

"Well, I'd have to agree with the part of you that says stop worrying," I tell her. "I don't do things I don't want to, and I've loved how this weekend has gone."

She smiles, and it makes my breath hitch a little.

"I'm also debating because I have work tomorrow morning at four, then I have class," she moans. I chuckle.

"It sounds like you have to be up pretty early. I don't want to keep you up too late and make that harder on you."

She frowns. "I'm not worried about that," she admits. "My autopilot for early mornings is deeply ingrained." She chuckles. "But it might be a bummer for you to have to be woken up that early."

I snort.

"I'm an early riser, no matter how late I'm up," I tell her. "That doesn't bother me at all."

She bites her lip. "Well, in that case, do you want to spend the night?"

I've never done this. I've never spent three nights in a row with a girl. In the past, it would have made me feel claustrophobic and tied down, but I don't even fucking hesitate with Bella.

"Yeah, I'd love to."

Her smile is truly breathtaking.

We head out of my car, and I grab my duffle, grateful I have at least one more set of clothes in there. We head up to her apartment hand in hand.

Alice isn't around when we get upstairs, but we're both tired enough that we head straight to her room, opting for Netflix in bed.

We get changed before climbing into her bed. Bella reaches for her laptop, setting it up on her nightstand while I curl up behind her on my side.

"What classes do you have tomorrow?" I ask her, my arm settling around her waist.

"Calculus and a chem lab."

I wince, shaking my head. "Ouch, better you than me."

She giggles as she gets Netflix up.

"It's not so bad," she says, her voice light. "You know if you're smart."

I snort and she laughs, setting up a movie. I'm not even paying attention to it, not really. I'm perfectly content holding her while the movie plays.

I think about what my mom said to me at the party today. I'd never thought about my dad's ambition. He'd always been so well balanced in my mind, but now that I think about it, it's probably because of my mom. She had this way of helping him remember life outside his career focus.

My thumb brushes over Bella's forearm as I hold her. I've only known her a weekend, but already she's managed to break me away from the driving work intensity I've been living in for most of my adult life.

And what's more, I haven't even minded.

Maybe mom is right, maybe the right person doesn't make you choose, they just bring you balance.

I don't know what's in the future for Bella and me, but for now, I'm content to just enjoy the ride.